criterionforum.org

Jesus, I don't think Segal and Walter ever worked together, but their comic personas feel complementary in some way.

EDIT: They did - the TV Land show Retired at 35

EDIT 2: And Sidney Lumet's Bye Bye Braverman! Man, I don't know their work as well as I thought I did.

mfunk9786 wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 6:37 pm Jessica Walter

I think this one hurts a lot. When I was going through a rough time personally, I started watching Arrested Development on the advice of my mom. Lucille Bluth will always be my favorite character in all of television comedy. Part of it is the exceptional writing, but the main reason is Jessica truly stole every episode with her portrayal of Lucille. I still, after 15 years of rewatching random episodes, laugh extremely hard when Gene Parmesan always pops up. Such a sad day for such a great actress.

Good excuse to plug her first film role in Robert Rossen's Lilith

I originally knew Walter through Play Misty for Me, then a bit later when I caught up with Arrested Development, it wasn't until deep into season 2 that I realized Walter played both roles. She was the best thing about that show, and it really pissed me off how much she was hurt by her douchebag colleagues who then belittled her when she opened up in that NY Times interview. I already saw the original show and had no interest in seeing the reportedly inferior Netflix seasons, but it kind of soured me from revisiting the episodes anytime soon.

mfunk9786 wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 6:37 pm Jessica Walter

My wife was especially devastated by this. Just watched Play Misty for Me for the first time in a couple of decades a few weeks ago. I've associated her so much with 'Gangy' ("you want your belt to buckle, not your chair") that I had completely forgotten she was the villain in that one, and she goes all out.

As to Segal, I'll throw in some love for him for his throwaway role in The Cable Guy as Broderick's father; he was able to churn some laughs from that bit part. I giggle every time he asks Broderick "Are you on the pot?" (and if I recall correctly, Play Misty for Me shows up at one point in that film).

It's a testament to how well Lucille Bluth became a piece of popular culture that I knew of the character before I was even aware of what show she was in. It's also a shame that so many people still only know of Walter through that show.

swo17 wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 6:59 pm Good excuse to plug her first film role in Robert Rossen's Lilith

Absolutely- her performance in a key scene is so raw at communicating an underlying internal logic of desperation for intimacy, that completely sells an otherwise bizarre and deranged encounter. It's one of the best moments in one of the best movies about psychology.

I recently watched her in the Group and let assure everyone, she was cultivating the bitchy star image decades before Arrested Development

I didn't know she did the voice of the mother on the ABC sitcom Dinosaurs

How have we gone this long without mentioning Archer? That’s a show that couldn’t live without her.

knives wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 9:27 pm How have we gone this long without mentioning Archer? That’s a show that couldn’t live without her.

This was the first one that came to mind for me as well, and I meant to mention it but see now that I got caught up in my excitement for Lilith. I actually think her comic perf in Archer is better than her work on Arrested Development, and I love both

This one hit hard, she was such a force to be reckoned with that I thought she'd go at least another decade. I never even thought she was 80 since she seemed to have more energy and presence than any actor she appeared alongside, at least in AD, which was my primary exposure to her.

domino harvey wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 7:40 pm I recently watched her in the Group and let assure everyone, she was cultivating the bitchy star image decades before Arrested Development

I just randomly discovered while looking for something else that the Group was well-liked by Cahiers du Cinema upon its release. I... would not have predicted that